Real Man
by annazonfox
Summary: This is a re-write of the  in famous episode "PC." It is also a sequel to my short story "Propositions." A woman has been murdered in New York City, and several suspects emerge, including the woman's ex. Meanwhile, Alex and Olivia test their relationship.


_Disclaimers: I have intended no copyright infringement in the writing of this fan fiction story that contains characters found in the television show Law and Order: SVU. This story cannot be sold or used for profit, and I have not financially profited from it in any way. Copies of this story may be made for private use, and copies must include all disclaimers and copyright notices. This story is fictional and does not depict any actual person or event._

_Content Warning: This story contains non-graphic references to sexual assault and violence._

_Summary: This story is a re-write of the (in)famous SVU episode "PC." It is also a sequel to my story "Propositions." A lesbian has been murdered in New York City and several suspects emerge, including the woman's ex-partner. Meanwhile, Alex and Olivia try to negotiate their new relationship_.

**Real Man**

Olivia fumbled for the phone on the nightstand before the second round of "Whispering Bells" could begin. It was the only alarm tone on her phone that wasn't completely obnoxious. Clicking her phone shut and letting it drop back onto the nightstand, she snuggled back under the covers determined to snooze for five more minutes.

Next to her, Alex groaned and slid an arm across the detective's stomach. "Don't get up yet."

Olivia kissed the top of Alex's head, taking in the subtle scent of vanilla in her hair, and pulled her closer. It was early March. Still cold in New York City and still dark when she woke up, making it that much harder to leave Alex's bed when she stayed over on work nights. Still, warmer days were getting near.

"Shower here," Alex said softly, kissing Olivia's neck. "With me."

It was tempting, Olivia had to admit, but alas. "I can't be late for work again." Cragen had already reamed the usually-dependable detective last week when she was late for work the third time that month.

"Besides, I don't have work clothes here," Olivia said, before finding Alex's mouth with her own.

Alex pulled away. "I think you don't want us to show up to work together." She began sliding her hand down Olivia's stomach, teasing the detective's inner thighs. "Isn't that right?"

Olivia slightly parted her legs, while also taking hold of Alex's roaming hand. "Don't start something you don't have time to finish."

"You doubt me?" Alex said, raising an eyebrow.

"Never," Olivia said, kissing Alex again. As the kiss deepened and became more urgent, Olivia's alarm began ringing again. "Damn it," she said, turning toward the nightstand and shutting off the phone. Quickly kissing Alex on the cheek, Olivia got out of bed and began pulling on her clothes that were strewn about the room.

Alex rolled onto her back and placed her arms behind her head as she watched Olivia move. "You never answered my question."

Dressed in her clothes from last night, Olivia approached the bed, leaned forward and kissed Alex on the forehead. "I just need to keep my personal life separate from my professional life. This is new for me."

"Relationships in general or relationships with women?"

"Yes," Olivia said, being deliberately vague.

"And you'd feel the same way if I were a man? About our colleagues finding out?"

"Yes, I would," Olivia said, never appreciating being on this end of interrogations. "I have to go," she said, walking to the door of the bedroom.

"See you at the office, dear," Alex said, looking amused. "Don't forget about tomorrow afternoon."

Olivia shot her a wry look, trying to remember what tomorrow afternoon was.

"Lunch," Alex said. "With Uncle Bill."

"I know," Olivia said, acting annoyed that Alex thought she had forgotten.

xxxx

"What do we have?" Olivia asked, as she and Elliot walked into the apartment.

"Caucasian female, late twenties. Name's Allisa Davies, she's the resident," Warner said, as she knelt beside the victim. "Evidence of sexual trauma, but no semen found."

The victim's hands were bound and dried blood was crusted around her mouth and nose.

Olivia looked away. "Cause of death?"

"Fracture of the hyoid indicates manual strangulation," Warner said. "Won't know for sure until the autopsy though."

CSI agents moved about the room dusting for fingerprints. Amidst the movement, a brunette woman sat alone on a sofa.

Elliot walked around the small apartment, inspecting the front door and the windows. "No signs of forced entry."

"I'd put time of death at about 12 hours ago," Warner said.

"11 p.m.," Olivia said. "Who found her?"

"A friend of hers," Warner said, quietly. "This morning. She seems pretty shaken up," she added, looking toward the woman on the sofa.

Olivia and Elliot nodded to one another and began walking toward the woman.

"Ma'am," Olivia said, nodding to the woman. "I'm Detective Olivia Benson and this is my partner Detective Elliot Stabler with the Special Victims Unit."

The woman nodded and wiped tears away from her eyes. "I'm Rosemary Stevens."

"This might be difficult, but we're going to have to ask you some questions," Olivia said, softly. She sat next to the woman. "Can you tell us how you found Ms. Davies?"

"A-Alissa and I were going to have lunch..." she started, and began crying. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Olivia said. "Take your time."

Rosemary nodded and began again. "We were going to have lunch today. I came by to pick her up. She was depressed. Was having trouble at work, just got out of a relationship. When she didn't answer her door I noticed it was unlocked. I got worried so I came inside... and I found her, like this..."

"Anyone you can think of who might want to hurt her?" Elliot asked.

Rosemary shook her head, "No, I don't know who would do this to Allisa."

"You said she just got out of a relationship," Elliot said. "What happened with her and the ex-boyfriend?"

"I..." Rosemary started, looking uncomfortable. "She didn't have a boyfriend. But Sharon wouldn't have done this."

"Ah," Elliot said. "Sharon was the girlfriend?"

Rosemary nodded.

"Did things end badly between Alissa and Sharon?" Olivia asked.

Rosemary looked away. "Yes."

"What can you tell us about that?" Olivia asked.

"You're going to want to talk to Sharon about that," Rosemary said, angry. "And while you're at it be sure to ask her why she outed Allisa on MyFace."

xxxx

"Sharon Harris?" Olivia asked, as a tall woman with blond ponytail opened the door to the apartment.

The woman nodded, her eyes were bloodshot.

"I'm Detective Olivia Benson and this is my partner Elliot Stabler," Olivia said, flashing her badge. "We'd like to talk to you."

"This is about Allisa," Sharon said, quietly.

"Yes, it is," Olivia said.

Sharon opened the door wider and stepped back, allowing them room to enter.

"Thank you," Olivia said, as she and Elliot walked through the doorway. "We're sorry for what happened to Ms. Davies."

Sharon turned her back on the detectives and looked out the window. "What do you want to know?"

"Where you were last night, between the hours of 10 p.m. and midnight?" Elliot asked. "For starters."

Sharon seemed to take a couple of deep breaths before turning toward Elliot and glaring at him. "Working the door at Alibi's."

"Alibi's?" Elliot asked.

"The lesbian bar in Alphabet City," Olivia said. She then paused, before explaining. "I... see it on my way home from work." Stopped in there a few times, too.

Elliot frowned and turned back to Sharon. "We're going to need names of people who can vouch for your... alibi."

Sharon shrugged. "At least twenty women saw me there last night." She turned back toward the window. "Is there anything else?"

"Sharon," Olivia said, taking a couple of steps toward her. "Can you tell us how your relationship with Allisa ended?"

"You're seriously considering me a suspect?"

"Not at this point," Olivia said. "But there were no signs of forced entry in Allisa's apartment, indicating that whoever did this to her might have been someone she knew."

Sharon took another deep breath, seeming to calm herself. "We ended things a month ago. If you want specifics, you should talk to Rosemary Stevens."

Elliot and Olivia looked at one another, frowning.

"That's funny," Elliot said. "She told us we should speak to you."

"Oh, she did?" Sharon said sharply, turning back toward the detectives. "They were sleeping together. Behind my back."

"That must've made you angry," Elliot said.

"Yeah," Sharon said, her voice rising. "It did."

"Angry enough to kill?"

Sharon shook her head, still glaring at Elliot. "No."

"But angry enough to out Allisa on MyFace..." Elliot said.

"I didn't do that," Sharon said, poking her thumb into her chest.

"You have a MyFace account though?" Elliot said.

"Yeah," Sharon said. "Who doesn't?"

"Mind if we take your computer down to the precinct?"

From the hall, they heard a knock on the door. Sharon brushed by the detectives, looked through her peephole, and swung the door open. When she did, a short woman with red hair barged into the apartment and placed herself between Sharon and the detectives.

"Questioning a suspect without her attorney present? You do this to all grieving friends or just the lesbian ones?"

Elliot rolled his eyes.

"She's not a suspect," Olivia said.

"Yet," Elliot added.

"Babs Duffy, Attorney at Law," the woman said, sticking out her hand for Olivia to shake. She nodded toward Elliot but didn't extend her hand. Then, turning toward Sharon she said, "Don't say anything else."

Sharon nodded.

"We're done here anyway. We're just going to take her computer with us," Elliot said.

"Not without a warrant you're not," Babs said, crossing her arms.

Olivia looked at Elliot, who shrugged.

"Thank you for your time, Sharon," Olivia said. She then raised her eyebrows toward Elliot, indicating that it was time to leave.

xxxx

"I'm sorry," Alex said, sitting at her desk. "You want to execute a search warrant on her computer why, again? Even if she had outed Allisa on MyFace that hardly establishes intent to murder her. Cyber-harassment would be a stretch, but let's take care of this murder case first."

Alex, of course, was right. Olivia knew that.

"Tell me you have something more than this?" Alex said.

Elliot's cell phone rang. He stepped outside Alex's office to answer it.

"Not yet," Olivia said. "The ex is our primary person of interest at this point."

"Female-on-female sexual assault?" Alex asked.

"It's not impossible," Olivia said.

"I know that," Alex said, sharply. "Look...As reprehensible as it may have been to out the victim as a lesbian, that doesn't show that the ex is capable of sexual assault or murder. Maybe it's time to explore other leads..."

"It does show that she was pissed," Olivia said. "And even if that wouldn't stand up in court, it does matter when we're thinking about who to investigate-"

Elliot stepped back into the room. "That was CSI..."

"And?" Olivia said.

"They found something on the victim's computer," he said. "In her email account, the last message she sent was to ChadsList..."

"That site that features free classified ads?" OIivia said.

Elliot nodded, "And free romance ads. The day before her death, Allisa had emailed Chadlist administrators begging them to remove an ad she said was fraudulently posted."

"What was in the ad?" Alex said.

"It asked for a man to come to her apartment to fulfill a violent rape fantasy. It listed her address, gave her physical description, and listed where a spare key could be found outside the premises. Allisa wrote to Chadslist saying that she never posted the ad and that she wanted it removed immediately."

"Did they remove it?" Olivia said.

"Yes," Elliot said. "But apparently not fast enough."

Olivia and Elliot looked at Alex.

"I'll have your warrant this afternoon," Alex said. "Get Sharon's computer."

xxxx

"When you said 'lunch with Uncle Bill,' I thought that meant eating would be involved," Olivia said to Alex, in the locker room.

"Just put one of these on," Alex said. "There's a dress code. Blue or green?"

"There's a dress code to play a sport?"

"At this golf club there is," Alex said.

"Blue," Olivia said, grabbing the blue plaid capris and white long-sleeved polo shirt. "I can't believe he sent a private helicopter for us."

Alex was pulling on a skirt. "He didn't want us to get stuck in traffic."

"You're aware my golf experience is limited to putt-putt, right?" Olivia said, sliding into the pants.

"You're coordinated," Alex said, putting a hand on each side of Olivia's waist. "You'll be fine. Besides, it is important for women with political ambitions to play golf."

"I don't have political ambitions," Olivia said.

"But, I do," Alex leaned in and kissed Olivia. "So it might be a good idea for you to learn."

"Fair enough," Olivia said, pulling Alex closer.

As they stood between a row of lockers, they heard footsteps and quickly separated.

"Alexandra Cabot," said a familiar voice, attached to a familiar face.

"Judge Petrovsky," Alex said, extending her hand to the older woman. "Good to see you. How did you do today?"

"My short game's been off and on lately, and today it was a bit off, unfortunately," Petrovsky said, taking Alex's hand. She then took notice of Olivia. "One of New York's finest, right?"

"Olivia Benson," Olivia said, extending her hand.

Petrovsky shook her hand and then looked from Olivia to Alex and back again, nodding. "It's good to see more ladies here. Let's set up a tee time. We'll have a foursome. Judge Donnelly, you two, and me."

"Certainly," Alex said, smiling.

"I have to get back to the city for a hearing," Petrovosky said. "Give my regards to your uncle, Ms. Cabot." She then turned and abruptly headed to the showers.

"Will do," Alex said.

"I feel like I just witnessed the birth of a Good Ol' Girls' Club," Olivia whispered.

"The birth of one?" Alex laughed. "It already exists."

"And you seem to be in it," Olivia said. "Do they know...?"

"About my sexual proclivities? Of course," Alex said. "Welcome to the 21st Century. Let me just say that some of these VIP ladies have special arrangements worked out with their husbands..."

Olivia laughed. "You're shitting me?"

"Nope," Alex said. "Now, let's go. Uncle Bill is waiting for us."

xxxx

"How's your short game, Benson?" Bill said, as they rode toward the first hole. The three of them were in his golf cart. Alex and her uncle sat up front while Olivia sat in back.

"It's...off and on," Olivia said. So far, she hadn't embarrassed herself too badly. Although she had swung and missed on her first attempt at driving the ball, she connected pretty well on her second attempt. Even Alex had seemed to be impressed.

Bill parked the golf cart near the green and began rifling through his clubs.

"See, it's not so bad, is it?" Alex whispered, as she and Olivia rose.

"It's nice to be out of the city," Olivia said. "I'll give you that."

As Bill lined up his shot, Olivia took in the surroundings. They had flown across New York Harbor to a private golf club that had been built on marshland. It seemed almost inconceivable that they could be so close to the grit of the city.

"Nice one," Alex said, watching her uncle sink a putt. She then pulled out a club from her bag and approached the green. "My turn."

As Olivia watched Alex, Bill appeared next to her.

"So, do you have family in the city?" he said.

"I..." Olivia said. "They're deceased."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Bill said. "You and Alex have that in common, then."

Olivia nodded, unsure of what to say.

Bill turned to her abruptly, and began speaking quietly. "Look, I'm not going to beat around the bush here. I am the closest family Alexandra has, so I have a duty to ask. What are your intentions with her?"

"I... I'm not sure I understand..."

"Well let me tell you then," he said. "The Cabot name has a certain reputation in this city-"

"I know-"

Bill held up his hand, stopping Olivia. "Now listen. I'm not talking about the gay thing. I'm talking about how she needs someone who is going to stand by her side with integrity. If and when she runs for office, everything and everyone in her life is going to come under scrutiny, and if you're serious about her, you better make damn sure you understand that."

"I..."

"Do you understand me?" Bill said.

"Yes, sir," Olivia said, to one of the longest-serving judges in New York City.

"Good," Bill said. "Excellent shot, Alexandra," he yelled as Alex's ball trickled into the hole. Before Olivia could say anything more, he walked to Alex and put an arm around her.

"Okay then," Olivia said, to herself.

xxxx

"What can you tell us about Sharon Harris?" Elliot asked Viv, the stocky short-haired woman who stood behind the bar at Alibi's.

Olivia stood next to Elliot, looking around the bar.

"She's a good bouncer," she said, and continued to shine a glass with her towel.

"What does that mean? She violent?" Elliot asked.

"Not usually," Viv said. "Only uses force when she needs to."

"You know anything about her relationship with Allisa Davies?"

"Not much," Viv said.

"You know anything about Allisa's relationship with Rosemary Stevens?" Olivia asked.

Viv stopped shining the glass and looked up. "What?"

"She was having a sexual relationship with Rosemary Stevens," Olivia said.

Viv laughed and shook her head. "Who wasn't she having a sexual relationship with?" she said, softly.

"Viv, were you having sex with Allisa, too?" Olivia asked.

"Look," Viv said. "We'd talk. She'd come sit at the bar while Sharon was bouncing. We got to know each other-"

Elliot and Olivia looked at one another.

"Wait, you don't think I...No," Viv said. "I ended it. I met someone new. Someone who could give me a real relationship. I was over Allisa."

"You sure about that?" Elliot said.

"Yes," Viv said.

"What about Sharon?" Olivia asked. "You think she would want somebody to hurt Allisa?"

"Oh my God," Viv said. "Is that Chadslist thing from the news for real?"

"We really can't talk about that," Olivia said. She then waited for Viv to answer.

"Look," Viv said. "I'm not surprised this happened."

"Meaning?"

"First there was the MyFace thing. That didn't go over well at Allisa's work, from what I've heard."

"What do you mean it didn't go over well at Allisa's work?"

"So, she was a teacher right?" Viv said. "She freaked when her co-workers found out about her being a lesbian."

"Any of them give her a hard time about it?" Olivia asked.

"I don't know," Viv said. "Like I said, I didn't talk to her much after we stopped... sleeping together. Ask Rosemary."

xxxx

"You believe her?" Elliot asked, as he drove back to the station.

"Viv? Yeah. I don't think she's involved in this," Olivia said. She felt her cell phone begin to vibrate in her pocket. Pulling it out, she looked at the name on the screen. "It's Fin."

"Hope he has something for us," Elliot said.

"This is Benson," Olivia said, popping open her phone.

"Olivia," Fin said. "Warner and the lab found a match for the fingerprints on the victim's body."

"And?"

"Scott Thompson," Fin said. "He has a prior."

"Let me guess."

"Yep, Rape 1," Fin said. "He's out on parole. We're picking him up now."

"We'll meet you at the station," Olivia said, closing her phone.

xxxx

"Her computer was clean, so either charge her with something or let her go," Babs said, in the interrogation room.

"She could have posted that ad from any internet cafe in the city," Elliot said.

"If being an ex-lover is what makes someone a suspect, it sounds like you should be rounding up half the women in the East Village," Babs said.

"But not all of the exes have a history of using the internet to harass Allisa Davies," Elliot said, he then picked up a printout of the ad and read. "Teacher by day submissive bitch by night, seeking real man 4 fantasy. Abuse me, use me, and leave-"

"I outed her on MyFace when I found out she was cheating on me," Sharon said. "But I swear I did not leave that ad."

"Sharon, stop talking," Babs said. "Detective Stabler, you have the rapist in custody, do you not?" Babs said.

"We do," Elliot said.

"Then what the hell is my client still doing here?" Babs said. "A lesbian has been raped and murdered and you don't think someone outside the gay community, someone who oh maybe hates gay people, might have left that ad? Unbelievable."

Behind the two-way mirror, Olivia, Alex, and Cragen watched.

"What now?" Olivia asked. "If she left that rape fantasy ad on ChadsList, isn't she implicated in this crime?"

"First things first," Alex said. "We need actual evidence that Sharon left the ad and that Thompson relied on the ad in committing the rape and murder. Once those ducks are in a row, we can go from there."

"We can get information from Chadslist," Olivia said. "They can at least tell us where that ad originated."

"Get us a warrant and we'll have CSI follow the breadcrumbs," Cragen said, looking at Alex.

Alex put her hands on her hips and eyed Elliot, Sharon, and Babs in the interrogation room.

"Alex? That going to be a problem for you?" Cragen asked.

"Criminal statutes have not kept pace with the evolution of technology," Alex said. "This case is going to implicate criminal accessory laws, sexual assault laws, and the liability of website owners in a novel way. When we find the person who left the ad, this case could get complicated and high-profile."

"There are already cyberharassment laws, right?" Olivia said.

"Yes, but cyberharassment is only a misdemeanor. I'm sure we can all agree that we should go bigger than that here," Alex said. "I can't make any promises about how this case is going to come out, but I guarantee you that I will charge whoever left this ad with the most serious charges I can in good faith prosecute them with."

"What should we do with Sharon, in the meantime?" Olivia said.

Alex sighed. "We're going to have to let her go for now. Babs Duffy is the last person in the gay community we want to piss off."

"We'll keep an eye on Sharon," Cragen said. "We need to interview more suspects. Benson, Stabler, start with Davies' exes. Also, find out what sort of problems she was having at work and interview co-workers."

"Alex, do you have enough to put Thompson away?" Cragen asked.

"I think so."

xxxx

"What are you offering, counselor?" asked Trevor Langan, Thompson's defense attorney, in the conference room.

"Nothing," Alex said, sitting across the table from Trevor. "Considering he's being charged with Murder 1."

Standing behind a seated, handcuffed Thompson, Olivia smirked.

"Murder 1?" Trevor said, laughing in mock amusement. "On what grounds?"

"Your client killed the victim while he was in the course of committing rape in the first degree," Alex said. "That's felony murder."

"Rape 1? I don't think so," Trevor said. "Rape 1 requires forcible compulsion. The victim must have clearly expressed she did not consent to the sex act and a reasonable person in the defendant's situation must have understood the victim's words or acts as non-consent."

"With all due respect, I'm not sure your client, who is a convicted rapist, qualifies as a reasonable person," Alex said.

"But the victim isn't here to express whether or not she consented to the sex act-" Trevor said.

"She isn't here because your client killed her-" Alex said.

"For the sake of argument, let's say Ms. Davies did not consent to the... sexual encounter. Given that my client was relying on the belief that Ms. Davies posted an ad specifically requesting a rape-like sex act to be performed on her, my client, would not have understood the victim's words or acts as non-consent."

"A reasonable person acting out such a fantasy would not have choked a woman, broken three bones in her face, and then murdered her," Alex said. "Murder and Rape 1. I've already decided."

Trevor sighed. "Sexual Misconduct and Manslaughter."

"You're kidding me?" Alex said.

"You really want a test case, Alex?" Trevor said.

"You realize the precedent you're trying to set?" Alex said. "You're arguing that another person can effectively take away another person's right to say no to sex by merely posting a rape fantasy ad on the internet."

"And you're arguing that it doesn't matter if a man makes a mistake and thinks a woman has consented to sex when she hasn't," Trevor said.

"Your client did not make a mistake," Alex said, rising and gathering her papers. "He knew exactly what he was doing, and because of that, he's going to sit in prison for the rest of his life and I guarantee you I won't let any judge or jury think otherwise. Now, if you don't have anything serious to offer to this investigation, I have a case to prepare," Alex said, before turning and walking to the door.

Olivia raised her eyebrows at Trevor, who looked somewhat defeated, and gave him a half-smile. As she followed Alex to the door, Thompson whispered something to Trevor.

"Counselor," Trevor said. "What if my client could offer more information?"

Alex paused and turned. "What information?"

Thompson whispered to Trevor again, and the attorney nodded.

"Could we make a deal if there were emails, hypothetically speaking, that could not be found on my client's computer? Emails that could lead you to the person who placed the ad?"

xxxx

"Alex, I'm sorry we didn't discover the emails before you started talking to Langan," Olivia said, setting down her wine glass. "But it could have taken weeks to find out Thompson was using a pseudonymous email account at locations all over the city to communicate with the person who left that fake ad."

"Babs Duffy, the gay community, and the public at large are going to have my ass if Thompson gets anything less than life in prison," Alex said.

They were eating dinner in a small, off-the-path Thai restaurant. At 10:30 pm on a Wednesday, they were the only customers. They had come straight from the office.

"It was your decision to make the deal, Alex," Olivia said. "I'm confident we would have found the information eventually." She felt defensive. The tension between her job as a detective, and Alex's job as prosecutor, was a feeling she was very familiar with. She'd been navigating it for many years. "Besides, 25-30 years isn't life in prison, but given Thompson's age, it's pretty close."

"It should be life," Alex said, getting angry.

"Maybe we should...talk about something else-"

"And Babs Duffy has been running her mouth in the gay press," Alex said. "Saying the DA's office doesn't care about hate crimes against lesbians."

"What?" Olivia said. "That's ridiculous. Don't you have a liaison to the LGBT community?"

"She, of all people, should know better," Alex said, finishing her wine. "The Rainbow Alliance. I started the goddamn Rainbow Alliance with her at Northwestern Law."

"You and Babs... have a past?"

Alex shook her head, as if realizing she had been ranting. "I'm sorry," she said, taking Olivia's hand. "Yes. We have a past. Not much of one. But I should have told you."

Olivia chuckled. Alex and Babs were both feisty, albeit in their own unique ways. She tried to imagine the two together.

"I know," Alex said. "I was a wanna-be prosecutor who wanted to work for the man and she wanted to save the world by taking down the man. We were destined to fail. I guess I was too bourgeois and she was too... PC."

"Little did she know you even had fantasies of becoming the man," Olivia said. "Figuratively speaking..."

"Detective," Alex said, smiling. "Are we talking about my political ambitions or... something else?"

Olivia smiled, letting that question go unanswered as the waiter brought their check. She felt her heart race at the suggestion. Their sexual relationship was still fairly new, but Olivia had learned quickly that Alex liked taking charge in the bedroom. Or the kitchen. Or the shower. Although, she also seemed to like it quite a bit when Olivia had her handcuffed and begging for release-

"Oh God, I've been meaning to talk to you about that," Alex said.

"I'm sorry?" Olivia said, shaking away her mental images.

"Uncle Bill gave you the third degree, didn't he?" Alex said, putting her head in her hands.

"Yep," Olivia said. "He did."

"I'm so sorry," Alex said. "He's very protective. He sees it as his duty to weed people out who are trouble."

"Great," Olivia said, wondering under what circumstances the daughter of an alcoholic and a rapist wouldn't be considered trouble to the venerable Cabot family. She smiled weakly as the waiter brought back their change.

"Well," Alex said, rising. "Shall we?" She held out her elbow for Olivia to take.

Olivia rose and looped her arm around Alex's. As she felt Alex lean into her, her breath quickened. Although she had only had one glass of wine, her head felt foggy, as though she could only focus on one thing at a time. And for the moment that one thing was touching Alex.

Once they got outside, they approached the curb, unsure whether to hail one cab or two.

"Do you want to come over?" Alex said, breaking the silence.

Olivia sighed and looked down the street, as if for some signal to tell her what to do.

Alex followed her gaze. "Looking for a better offer?" she joked.

Olivia turned back toward Alex, so they were facing one another. "I think... I should go home."

"Okay," Alex said. When Olivia didn't respond, Alex frowned. "Liv... Is everything okay?"

"Yeah... No... I don't know."

"All of the above?"

Olivia paused. "Yeah." She watched as, in an instance, Alex's demeanor changed. Standing before her was not the warm, funny woman she had come to know, but the steely, ice-cold prosecutor everyone else knew. "Alex... I..."

"No," Alex said, holding up a hand. "It's fine. Just.. was it Uncle Bill? It was too fast..."

"No, that's not it-"

"Then what is it, Olivia?" Alex said, her voice angry, although not loud.

"Alex, this isn't the place..."

"You're right, people might infer that we're having a lovers' quarrel, that we're more than friends. More than colleagues. More than fuck buddies."

"Stop it..." Olivia said. "Alex, I..." Love you. Want to be good enough for you.

"What?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't want tonight to end like this."

Alex shook her head. "No," she said softly. "I'm sorry. I knew this was going to be hard for you. Maybe we just want different things out of... whatever this is." She gestured toward both of them. She then walked to the curb to hail a cab.

Olivia stood, stunned, not sure what to say or do. Alex was divine, refined, and yes, bourgeois. Olivia was was a cop who ate hamburgers in her squad car with Elliot and who, over the years, racked up a slew of one-night stands that she never let go any further. That was her life. Her sad, lonely life. "Alex..." she said, as a cab pulled to the curb. "Wait."

Alex turned, eyes downcast as Olivia approached.

"Please," Olivia said, tentatively taking hold of Alex's hand. "Be patient with me."

When Alex raised her eyes to meet Olivia's, Olivia placed a hand at the back of Alex's neck and pulled her close.

Alex resisted at first, their lips inches apart. After a couple of seconds, she moved in, giving in to the pull.

Olivia captured Alex's bottom lip, gently at first, and then softly bit it. Hearing a low moan come from Alex, she then slipped her tongue to the opening of Alex's mouth. After pausing for a brief moment, she met Alex's tongue, and began teasing, pulling back when Alex pushed forward, and pushing forward when Alex pulled back.

Alex put her hands at Olivia's waist and pulled her close.

Olivia let her hands slide inside Alex's jacket at her waist, letting them rise slowly.

Alex moaned, but put her hands over Olivia's and pulled away. "I've been patient with you for going on a decade, Olivia Benson," Alex whispered. "You're just damn lucky your kiss is everything I imagined it would be, or you and I wouldn't even be standing here right now. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get home at a decent hour." She then kissed Olivia on the corner of the mouth and entered the taxi without another look back.

xxxx

The next morning, Olivia met Elliot at the coffee stand near the station. "Thanks," she said, as Elliot handed her one of the two cups of black coffee he was holding.

Elliot nodded. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Didn't sleep much last night," Olivia said, as they began walking to the station.

"I hear you," Elliot said.

As they approached the station on foot, Olivia saw Cragen addressing a large crowd. Photographers and cameramen were jockeying for position and microphones were being shoved toward Cragen.

"It is way too early in the morning for a media shitstorm," Olivia said.

"Damn it," Elliot said. "Let's go."

They briskly walked to the crowd and fell into place behind Cragen. They had strict orders to let the captain do all of the talking to the media. The detectives were supposed to stand solemnly in the background looking serious and professional.

"Is it true that ADA Cabot is going to press lawmakers to shut down Chadslist, thereby infringing on the First Amendment rights of Americans?" asked one reporter.

"You're going to have to ask the DA's office about that," Cragen said.

"Do you think this was a hate crime against the gay community?" asked another reporter.

"We don't have enough information at this time to be able to say for certain," Cragen said. "But we haven't ruled it out. One more question."

"Is it true that Babs Duffy, attorney for the lesbian alleged co-conspirator, is the former lesbian lover of ADA Cabot?" asked another reporter, taking particular care to emphasize the word "lesbian" each time he said it.

"Relevant questions only please," Cragen said, trying to make eye contact with a new reporter.

The reporter spoke up again, insisting, "Don't you think it is relevant if a lesbian ADA refuses to prosecute another lesbian out of...loyalties to that particular special interest group?"

"The sexual orientation of anyone working for my office or the DA's office is not relevant to a pending investigation or criminal justice matter," Cragen said. "I have the utmost confidence that ADA Cabot will investigate and try this case in accordance with the same standards she uses in all of her cases."

The crowd began buzzing, as reporters tried to ask follow-up questions.

"We have to get back to work," Cragen said. "We'll keep the public posted of further developments." With that, he turned his back on the crowd, rolled his eyes at Elliot and Olivia and began walking to the station.

The two detective turned and followed him, ignoring the reporters who were trying to get a statement from them.

"I want you two to head to the school where Allisa Davies taught," Cragen said. "Interview co-workers, friends, acquaintances. Find out if she had any enemies. Understand?"

"Got it," Elliot said. "We'll go now."

"Good," Cragen said. "You should also know. We're going to have to pick up Sharon Harris on charges of criminal conspiracy. I'm putting Munch and Fin on it."

"Sir?" Olivia said. "We don't have probable cause..."

"One of the emails to Thompson came from an internet cafe a block away from Alibi's."

Olivia frowned, "Seriously? That's suspicious, but it still doesn't seem like enough."

"Then get me something else, detectives," Cragen said, before storming into the station.

"Yes, sir," Olivia said. She turned to Elliot and saw that he was looking at her with a perplexed look on his face. "What?"

He knitted his eyebrows together and smiled. "Alex and Babs?"

"Shut up." Still, she couldn't help cracking a smile.

xxxx

"Most people liked Ms. Davies," said Mr. Emerson, the principal of the school where Allisa had worked. "She was quiet. Always received excellent reviews. Parents loved her."

"Her friends said she was having some trouble at work," Olivia said. "Do you know anything about that?"

"She was a private person," Emerson said. "She never came to me about any problems."

"Was anyone here close to her?"

"Ms. Taylor," Emerson said. "I believe they ate lunch together often."

xxxx

"Allisa said she was having problems at work," Olivia asked, in the teacher's lounge. "Possibly related to her being a lesbian. Do you know anything about that?"

"I guess some people found out about her on MyFace," Ms. Taylor said. "She thought she was going to get fired because of it. But it wasn't a big deal. She was a great teacher. The kids loved her."

"So can you think of anyone who would want to hurt her?"

Ms. Taylor shook her head. "No. No one here anyway."

"Was Ms. Davies close to anyone else here?"

"She was pretty private," Ms. Taylor said. "But she did hang out with Ronnie sometimes. Ronnie Whatley. The math teacher."

xxxx

"Do you know if Allisa was having problems at work?" Elliot asked.

"Problems?" Ronnie asked.

"Possibly related to her sexual orientation...?"

Ronnie laughed. "This school is fine with those people. We're not bigots."

"Those people?" Elliot said, chuckling.

"Homosexuals," Ronnie said. "Gays. Whatever."

"You seem pretty sure that no one at this school had a problem with gay people," Olivia said. "How do you know that?"

"She would have told me," Ronnie said. "She didn't talk to many people. But she talked to me."

"What made you so special?" Elliot said.

"Look," Ronnie said. "There was something. I don't know how important this is, but one time she overheard Coach Taylor making a gay joke."

"People make gay jokes all the time," Elliot said.

"Yeah," Ronnie said. "But Allisa felt like he made the joke in front of her, on purpose."

xxxx

"Well that was a wasted morning," Elliot said, in the squad car. They were on their way back to the station, empty-handed.

Olivia's phone rang. "Benson," she said, flipping it open.

"It's Cragen. You find out anything at the school?"

"Not unless making a gay joke counts as probable cause these days," Olivia said.

"Damn it," Cragen said. "Okay. We have a new development."

"There's a new development," Olivia whispered to Elliot, who was driving.. "Uh-huh. Yeah," she said, as she listened to Cragen. "We're on our way." She closed her phone and looked at Elliot.

"And?" he said.

"Another ChadsList ad was posted this morning."

"Before or after Sharon Harris was arrested?" Elliot asked.

"After."

"Shit."

"This one is targeting Babs," Olivia said. "Cragen wants security detail with her around the clock. At her place. I'll take the first shift. You can drop me off."

xxxx

Olivia walked the steps to Babs' apartment and knocked on her door. Quickly, the door flung open and Babs stood in the doorway, arms crossed.

"Hi," she said, moving aside so Olivia could enter. "Has my client been released from jail yet?"

"I... don't know," Olivia said. "That's not really my call."

"She shouldn't be in there," Babs said, she began trying to push by Olivia. "I'll go down there myself-"

"Whoa," Olivia said, catching Babs. "We need to focus on your safety right now. Okay?"

Babs strained against Olivia, but quickly stopped struggling. "Shit," she whispered. She then looked into Olivia's eyes, as if for the first time. She remained silent, as if transfixed.

Olivia frowned and pulled away. "So, I'll stay out of your way while I'm here."

"You don't have to," Babs said. She then shook her head. "I mean, thank you for being here. Can I get you a drink?"

"Water would be great," Olivia said. She followed Babs into the kitchen and watched her open two bottles of water, hands shaking. "Are you okay, Babs?"

"It's just... hard for me to be in here knowing my client is sitting in jail innocent while the person who killed Allisa is still out there trying to hurt other women."

"I don't like that either."

"I don't understand why you've been wasting time with Sharon..."

"This is a really new type of case for us," Olivia said. "I'm very sorry about what happened to Sharon. But please, you have to trust that we are on the same side."

Babs smiled. "I knew you batted for our team."

"What?" Olivia said. "No, that's not what I meant-"

"Oh, come on," Babs said, laughing and looking Olivia up and down.

Olivia sighed.

"Have a seat, detective," Babs said. She sat down at her kitchen table and patted the chair next to her.

Olivia pulled the chair out and sat in it backwards. She then noticed Babs staring at her. "What?"

"You're kind of a walking stereotype, Benson."

"That's what I told Alex," Olivia said. Her face immediately turned red. "I knew I gave off a gay vibe. But... people seemed too scared to tell me."

"Well, I'm officially telling you," Babs chuckled. "So...Alex Cabot. How is she anyway? I haven't spoken to her in ages. I mean, outside of when she's trying to put my friends in prison."

"She's... good," Olivia said. "She's happy. And successful."

"Yeah yeah, successful," Babs said, waving her hand. "We have different opinions about that. But she's happy? I'm glad. Is it you that makes her happy?"

"I..."

"Oh, loosen up," Babs said. "You're having sex with Alex freaking Cabot. Do you know how many lesbians in New York would enjoy that privilege and shout it from the rooftops just to make their friends jealous?"

"Look, I know," Olivia said. "I know that I'm lucky. That's been made abundantly clear to me."

Babs paused. "By?"

Olivia sighed. "Her uncle."

"He didn't!" Babs said. "That is so bourgeois."

"I'm not to get in the way of her political ambitions."

"You're a detective in one of the most demanding units in New York City," Babs said. "Unless you really fuck up a case, I don't see how anyone would think you're not... good enough."

Olivia remained silent.

"Oh," Babs said. "Oh, I get it. You don't think you're good enough." She began laughing.

"Excuse me?"

"That's rich, Benson," Babs said, still laughing.

"I don't..."

"Please," Babs said, catching her breath. "You're extremely attractive. You can take a man down bare-handed in what, five seconds?"

"Two."

"Your colleagues obviously respect you. And you have that whole angsty-hero Xena thing going on. You obviously have no idea how far that can take you with the ladies."

Olivia paused. "Really?"

"Yeah," Babs said. "Really. So stop being an insecure ass."

Olivia sat with her mouth open, speechless.

"Because if you don't get back in the saddle with Alex," Babs said, punching Olivia in the arm. "Someone else is going to go for a ride, you know what I'm saying?"

xxxx

"Why didn't you tell us you were having a sexual relationship with Allisa Davies when we first talked to you, Rosemary?" Elliot asked, later that night, at Rosemary's apartment.

"I didn't think it was relevant," Rosemary said. "Why would I have left an ad like that, for... for someone I love?"

"We're not accusing you of anything," Olivia said. "We just want information."

"I saw how quick you were to accuse Sharon..."

"That was a path you sent us down, Rosemary," Olivia said.

"Because I knew Allisa was scared of Sharon," Rosemary said. "And yeah, Sharon outed her on MyFace. First there was Ronnie and then, there was me, so of course Sharon was pissed. But, I didn't actually think...she would actually hurt Allisa."

"'First there was Ronnie,' what do you mean?" Olivia asked.

"I wasn't the first person Allisa cheated on Sharon with," Rosemary said.

"Ronnie who?"

"Ronnie, some guy she worked with," Rosemary said. "It was a one-night stand. He wanted more, but Allisa told him she was a lesbian. He seemed to accept that. And then she and I got together..."

Olivia and Elliot looked at each other.

"What?" Rosemary asked.

"Thank you for your time, Rosemary," Olivia said, as she Elliot turned to leave.

xxxx

"You neglected to tell us you had a sexual relationship with Allisa, Ronnie," Elliot said.

"It wasn't a sexual relationship," Ronnie said, in the interrogation room. "It was a one-time thing. Nothing noteworthy about that." He crossed his arms. "Am I under arrest, or can I leave now?"

Behind the two-way mirror, Alex turned to Olivia and Cragen. "If he's done talking, we don't have enough to keep him."

"Damn it," Olivia said.

Cragen looked at her. "Think you can get in there, Liv?"

Olivia nodded. She took off her jacket, tied it around her waist, and took a deep breath. Opening the door to the interrogation room, she nodded to Elliot, who left the room. Swaggering to the table where Ronnie sat, Olivia pulled out a chair and sat backwards in it.

"Hi Ronnie," she said. "It must've made you angry- that Allisa chose a woman over a real man like you."

Ronnie sniffed and looked away. "Not really."

"That was it, wasn't it? She didn't think you were man enough," Olivia said.

Ronnie remained silent.

"Isn't that why you posted that ad? You had to get a real man to finish what you started. And then, when you thought you got away with it, you thought you could send some more real men Babs' way."

Ronnie crossed his arms and clenched his jaw.

"What do you say, Ronnie?" Olivia said, leaning toward him. "You think I need a real man, too? Are you man enough for me, or do you need to send in somebody... bigger to get the job done?"

Twitching, Ronnie shot out of his chair, grabbed Olivia by the neck, and slammed her into the wall. "You fucking bitch. You people deserve what you get, just like that dyke Allisa."

Olivia heard Elliot and Cragen bust into the interrogation room. Before they could reach her, she had already kneed Ronnie in the groin and put his shoulder in a joint lock. The more he squirmed, the more pain he would be in.

As Elliot began cuffing Ronnie and reading him his rights, Olivia, hands shaking, rubbed her neck.

"Well done, Liv," Cragen said, softly, ushering her out the door.

xxxx

"You okay?" Elliot said, stopping by Olivia's desk the next morning.

"Yeah," Olivia said, looking up from her paperwork and putting a hand at her neck. "No concussion. Just some bruising."

"Good," Elliot said. "If it makes you feel any better, I bet he has some bruising around... certain parts, too."

Olivia smiled. "What makes me feel better is that he confessed to leaving those ads." Behind Elliot, she saw Alex approaching.

"Hey," Alex said, nodding at Elliot and then Olivia.

"Hey," Olivia said.

"Hey," Elliot said. "I'll just leave... you two."

"Can we talk?" Alex said. "In my office?"

"Yeah," Olivia said.

Olivia followed Alex into her office, shutting the door behind them. She watched as Alex moved toward her desk.

"You did good in there yesterday," Alex said. "A confession is going to make my job a hell of a lot easier. I think I'm going to be able to successfully move for summary judgment."

"That's great, Alex," Olivia said. "I'd love to see you put that bastard away without getting bogged down in a full trial."

Alex leaned against her desk. "Are you okay? That interrogation was..."

"Intense." Olivia leaned against the desk, too, her hand resting close to Alex's. "Yeah. I'm fine. My neck's a little stiff. But, I'm fine."

"I'm not just talking about your neck," Alex said. "You played gay very convincingly in front of your colleagues."

"What can I say?" Olivia said. "I have many skills."

Alex chuckled. "Seriously. Are you okay... with this?"

"It was recently brought to my attention that I've been an 'insecure ass.'"

"Oh my God," Alex said. "Babs?"

Olivia nodded. "Yeah, and I was."

"I'm going to concur with that assessment," Alex said, inching her hand toward Olivia's so that their pinkies were touching.

"Alex I..." Olivia said. "I'm ready for this. I'm ready for a real relationship. No hiding."

Alex smiled and turned toward Olivia. "It's about damn time, Benson," she said, pulling Olivia to her.

xxxx

"The facts of this case are indeed novel, but the material facts are not in dispute," Judge Petrovsky said. "The defendant left a false ad on Chadslist purporting to be a woman who desired to be raped by a man. Relying on this ad, a man raped and then murdered the woman in question. The defendant left this ad because the woman was a lesbian who refused to continue a romantic relationship with him."

Sitting in the back of the packed courtroom with Elliot, Olivia observed Alex, Ronnie, and Ronnie's attorney. Alex's demeanor was unreadable. She looked straight ahead, at Judge Petrovsky, refusing to acknowledge the presence of the criminal, who stood with his head bowed.

"After full consideration of the evidence submitted by the parties," Petrovsky continued. "It appears and the court finds that there is no triable issue of any material fact and that the People are entitled to judgment as a matter of law."

As the courtroom burst into murmurs, Olivia watched as Alex remained composed, a slight smile forming at the corner of the prosecutor's mouth.

"It is ordered that the People's motion for summary judgment is granted and that judgment be entered in favor of the People and against Ronald Whatley for the charges of Criminal Solicitation in the Third Degree, Criminal Facilitation in the Third Degree, and Conspiracy to Commit Sexual Assault as a Hate Crime in the Third Degree."

Petrovsky banged her gavel and, immediately, the courtroom burst into conversation.

xxxx

"Congratulations detectives," Cragen said, approaching Olivia and Elliot at the sports' bar. "Cabot coming to celebrate?"

Elliot, Munch, Fin, and Cragen looked at Olivia, waiting for her to answer.

Olivia paused. "Um, yeah. I think so. She wanted to finish another brief first. You know how she is."

"Well, here's to Alex," Fin said, raising his beer bottle.

"Alex," the others chimed in, raising their glasses and bottles. After they drank, they heard a voice.

"What, I win your case and you can't even wait for me?"

Behind Elliot's shoulder, Olivia saw Alex standing with a smile on her face.

"Congratulations, counselor," Elliot said, shaking her hand.

"Nice work," Cragen said, as Munch and Fin nodded.

"Martini please," Alex told the waitress, who arrived with more drinks. "Straight up." She then approached Olivia.

"Congratulations, Alex," Olivia said. Before she could change her mind, she leaned forward and kissed Alex on the side of the mouth.

Alex pulled away, smiling. "Thank you."

"So," Elliot said, smiling. "When is the sentencing hearing."

"Next week," Alex said, falling into place next to Olivia. "I'm recommending the maximum, 20 years."

"Good," Cragen said. "It will deter copy-cats."

A couple of DAs from Alex's office approached the group and began congratulating Alex. As they spoke to her, the crowd dissipated and Elliot slid next to Olivia.

"So... you and Alex, huh?" he whispered.

"El, I... should have told you," Olivia said. "We just started..."

"It's about time," he said, smiling.

"You're... okay with this?"

Elliot paused. "Yeah. You deserve to be happy."

"Thank you," Olivia said. She then whispered, "What about the others?"

"Oh please," Elliot said. "I think with that kiss you just gave Munch a year's worth of fantasies."

"I'm..." Olivia said. "Not sure how I feel about that." She took a large drink of her beer.

"Feel about what?" Alex said, re-joining the conversation as her colleagues left.

"Just making sure my fellow detectives are PC," Olivia said.

"I'm not sure getting off on two women together actually counts as being PC," Alex said, winking at Elliot.

"What does 'being PC' even mean?" Olivia said.

"You know," Elliot said. "Getting offended about every little thing..."

"Little things like hate crimes?" Alex said, raising an eyebrow.

"Okay, okay," Olivia said. "We're here to celebrate not debate."

"Alright," Elliot said, raising his glass. "To... love."

"To love," Olivia said. Beside her, as the group clanked glasses, she searched for Alex's hand and took it.

"To love," Alex said, looking at Olivia and smiling.

xxxx The End xxxx


End file.
